


royal duties

by jjhs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: (kinda), Alternate Universe - Royalty, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Forbidden Love, Historical Inaccuracy, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Princes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24820375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjhs/pseuds/jjhs
Summary: maybe their love is forbidden, but right now under the dark sky, in the middle of winter, surrounded by snow, with red noses and frozen hands, they are each other’s completely.or, mark is donghyuck’s knight and donghyuck has a commitment to his people before he has one to himself.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 6
Kudos: 85





	royal duties

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rainyjaem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainyjaem/gifts).



> for lia, sorry there's no death. next time tho;)
> 
> enjoy
> 
> (sorry this was kinda idk it's 5am goodbye I'll come back and edit maybe probably not

“I have been made to protect you. Only in death will I be kept from this oath.”  
— Leigh Bardugo, _Six of Crows_

it is the start of winter now, yet mark sweats under donghyuck’s bed sheet. he looks down at the boy lying on his chest, brown hair spread out. mark touches the nape of his neck and donghyuck lets out a sigh.

“we should get you cleaned up, prince,” mark mumbles. “you have a long day ahead of you.”

donghyuck shrugs carelessly. 

“your father wants you to go to a neighboring kingdom and meet their children. a business trip of some kind.”

“will you be accompanying me?” donghyuck asks, looking up at mark with big eyes. 

mark’s heart flutters. “if my assignment is with you, then yes.”

donghyuck hums like he’s lost in thought. “mark.”

“yes, prince?” mark quirks an eyebrow.

“do you trust me.”

mark nods. “of course.”

“then come with me.” 

donghyuck drags them both out of bed and into his bathroom. everything was customs made for him, detailed and reworked to his liking.

“bathe with me, knight.” donghyuck demands, already starting a bath for them. in usual instances, his maids would be doing all of this for him—for the prince does not lift a finger, but this is out of the ordinary, a special moment for both of them.

mark is unable to deny the prince, so he does not. instead, he steps into the tub and sits. he holds his hand out for donghyuck, helping the prince into the bath, ignoring the mess between his thighs which makes his stomach burn.

the prince leans back against mark’s chest, head falling onto the knight’s shoulder. mark kisses donghyuck’s temple.

the silence that falls between them is welcomed and appreciated. in these small, rare, obscure moments they are allowed to be more than their roles. in these moments, they are lovers before they are prince and knight. they are each other’s before they are their duties. 

for their loyalties fall in different places in the end. the prince must protect his kingdom first, and the knight must be willing to protect the prince at all costs—even if it means letting him go in the end. they both know their paths will stop being so entangled and they will be strangers with secrets. but, now, they can pretend that they have a forever.

they are in the bath until it turns lukewarm and mark ushers donghyuck out. they step into the shower and clean up thoroughly. hyuck presses mark against the wall and kisses him hard, but mark has to put an end to it when he remembers they have an entire day ahead of them.

he does not doubt that the morning hours are upon them.

they fall into donghyuck’s bed with wet hair. donghyuck is ethereal under the rising sun.

“tired,” donghyuck mumbles. 

“i knew you would be,” mark replies, sporting his own dark under eye circles as a result of no sleep. 

“it was worth it,” donghyuck yawns. mark’s heart burns.

“i am glad.”

“it always is.” the prince shuts his eyes and the knight decides to let him get his sleep. he caresses donghyuck’s cheek with tenderness, heart crying out at the thought of leaving. “you are going to leave,” donghyuck says with his eyes closed.

“i must,” mark answers. “you cannot be caught with me.”

the prince sighs, fingers coming up and grasping mark’s hand. “i hate when you leave me,” donghyuck answers, tears slipping down his face.

“i know,” mark says with a frown, thumbing away donghyuck’s tears. “i will be back with you soon enough.”

“you always are.”

mark gives donghyuck a quick, but sweet kiss on the cheek before gathering his normal clothing and getting dressed. donghyuck falls asleep and mark is glad. the goodbyes are always the hardest.

he opens the door to the prince’s door and peaks out. the knight on duty is mark’s close friend, jaehyun, so he manages to sneak out without anyone else noticing. 

he smiles sheepishly at jaehyun, but the older knight pays him no mind because of his job.

mark tiptoes out of the castle and into the knight manor. luckily for him, very few are awake and none ask questions. in the end, they all know the sacrifices they are each making. loyalty is not only to the royal family, but to each other too.

mark closes his eyes the second he lays in his own bed. it is nowhere near as comfortable as the prince’s, but it makes him sleepy nonetheless.

he believes that tomorrow he has a rest day. the only reason he did not tell the prince so was to avoid disappointing him. mark does not know how to say no to the prince.

mark shuts his eyes and soon enough he is drifting off to sleep.

the knight does not get much shut eye because soon he is woken up by another knight entering his room. he groans freely and peaks out of one eye.

jaehyun speaks. “come, prince donghyuck is readying for departure soon.” 

the older knight leaves mark on his own. mark quickly dresses and readies himself for another day of work. though prince donghyuck is leaving, the knight has to protect the rest of the royal family as well.

mark walks to the docks alone to find the ships preparing to leave. there are many commoners and peasants watching, excited to see the crowned prince outside of his castle. there are many gifts and flowers and foods out in hopes that the prince will take some.

the wait is not long and soon enough prince donghyuck, along with several knights, is walking through the people toward his ship. he waves and smiles at his people, using his charm as usual. he is allowed to take a few gifts before stepping onto the dock and shaking hands with the captain.

the prince spares no looks mark’s way, and the knight never expected him to. for, they are different people here than they are in the dark of the prince’s bedroom. mark, though, watches the prince’s movements very carefully, watching for distress and discomfort as he has been trained. 

he finds none and relaxes. donghyuck is escorted on the ship and happily waves goodbye as it sets off. 

mark’s heart is racing, breaking, and begging. racing because donghyuck is leaving the safety of his kingdom for a new place. breaking because donghyuck is not under his protection anymore. begging because donghyuck is not only his to love.

the crowd disperses and mark heads to find out his duties for the day. though he was told he had a day off, he does not believe it for one second. his duties never wait. his hand rests on the handle of his sword the entire way, constantly monitoring every movement in the village. 

he is given assignments to stand post outside of the princess’ luncheon with another royal family. mark quickly makes his way to the dining room and takes his stance. as he settles into position, his mind eases. this is what he was made to do.

+

prince donghyuck does not return for nearly four weeks. mark goes about his days plagued by thoughts of him. he allows himself a few moments to ponder over if the prince does the same. however, no matter how much his soul missed the prince, mark continued to work.

on the 31st day, the prince arrives home. his arrival back home is a happy celebration. though, it is one mark and other knights are not able to partake in as they are in charge of keeping it safe. he has no hard feelings toward it because it is not his job to have fun.

mark is sleeping in his bedroom when his door opens. again, he groans, growing sick of being awakened while trying to rest.

“i have a note for you,” a meek servant squeaks out. they hand it to mark with shaky hands before disappearing from mark’s room.

mark does not have to think very hard about who it is from. the gold trim and leather tie says as much. mark unravels the note and reads it.

_come to my room._

_—d_

quickly, mark gets ready to go. he sneaks out of his manor to the back of the castle. he lets himself in as he has done far too many times than he cares to admit. he goes to donghyuck’s room and jaehyun stands guard.

mark opens donghyuk bedroom himself and steps inside.

the prince is there on his bed dressed in nothing but an oversized button up, hanging off his shoulders and displaying his chest.

“i have missed you,” donghyuck puts it simply, sultry look in his eyes, lips sparkling with gloss.

“and i, you.”

mark approaches donghyuck with a refined manner in his step, though a part of him wants nothing more than to pounce on the prince and take him for himself.

“will you show me how much you missed me?” donghyuck asks, a cute smirk cross his face as he teases mark.

“it has been so long,” mark replies, ignoring donghyuck’s question. “will you show me how much you missed me?”

donghyuck licks his lips as mark finally stands at the foot of his bed, thighs brushing the cream sheets. “if you let me, knight.”

“i will let you do anything to me, my prince.”

+

mark pants as he collapses next to donghyuck, hair stuck to his forehead from sweat. donghyuck is blissed out next to him, eyes shut and chest moving erratically. mark touches his cheek and donghyuck mewls, curling into mark’s touch.

“what is wrong?” mark asks. nothing from the way donghyuck has acted since the knight arrived has given mark the impression that something is wrong. but, mark can feel it. because he is mark and he is trained to know.

donghyuck shakes his head. “just wanna enjoy now.” his words are slurred together from exhaustion.

“then sleep, my prince.” mark scooches closer to donghyuck’s body and pulls the prince to him. 

“will you be here when i wake up?” donghyuck asks. 

“of course i will.”

+

mark steps out of the shower and is welcomed by the sight of donghyuck sitting up on the bed, rubbing his eyes groggily.

“good morning,” donghyuck mumbles, voice gruff.

“it is still night time,” mark gestures to donghyuck’s window where the starts shine. mark quickly slips into some clothes. 

“nonetheless,” donghyuck laughs. mark could listen to donghyuck laugh forever. “come here.”

so, mark does. he allows donghyuck to situate them into a cuddling position that satisfies him, in between mark’s legs with his back pressed against the knight’s chest. 

“are you okay?” mark asks, no hesitation.

donghyuck is silent.

“you can tell me,” mark assures, rubbing donghyuck’s sides with feather like touches, making the prince shiver.

“i am engaged,” donghyuck finally spits out. “when i went to the other kingdom, it was to find a wife.”

mark licks his lips. he tries to wrap his head around what donghyuck said. it doesn’t take him long, but longer than he had expected. “is she suited to be your wife?” he asks.

“i suppose,” donghyuck answers. mark sighs. “are you mad?”

mark hums, kissing the back of donghyuck’s head. the truth is that he is furious. he is beyond mad. but, he cannot show it. “no.”

hyuck twists in mark’s hold, straddling mark’s thighs. he stares straight into mark’s eyes, almost like he searching for something. “why are you not mad?”

it takes mark a moment to answer, to find an answer that is okay. “i am mad. but, not at you,” mark eventually confesses, “it is the situation in which i am upset with.”

“why are you not mad at me?” donghyuck inquires, gripping onto mark’s shoulders.

“because it is your duty, my prince. i cannot be mad at you that it is your duty to marry her.” that is the honest truth. for, mark could not be more honest than that. 

donghyuck stares at mark, though this time mark has a feeling the truth was not what donghyuck wanted to hear. “but what about us?”

it is an ignorant question for donghyuck to ask. they both knew how this would end. they both knew it from the beginning.

“i am charged with protecting you, with making sure you are safe so you can do what you need to do for this kingdom, prince. that will not change now that you are engaged.” again, this is the truth. only, this truth hurts mark much more than he likes to admit.

“even if it hurts you?” donghyuck’s voice is soft and weak. 

mark is a man of his word. and, he has sworn to give his life to the royal family—to hyuck. he cannot go back on it, even if it means watching donghyuck get married. he has been preparing himself for this moment since before donghyuck’s eighteenth birthday. he is not hopeful, he never has been. for, this relationship was doomed from the start.

“even if it hurts me, my prince,” mark confirms.

+

the snow falls around them. mark is a bit worried as the prince sobs in such cold conditions.

“i do not want to stop seeing you,” donghyuck cries, on the verge of begging. “please do not leave me.”

“i am sorry,” mark responds, keeping his own tears at bay to avoid a horrible confrontation. “i am sorry, my prince. but, you are now engaged and i must respect you and your new status. you are going down a path i cannot follow.”

donghyuck only cries harder. they are in the middle of the woods, a treat heavy spot to keep out of the public eye. they usually only come here during the summer, but mark figures that their relationship is over so they are allowed to skirt around a few unspoken rules.

“you know she does not mean anything to me. she does not measure up to you at all,” donghyuck says with a hard edge to his voice. 

mark can only sigh. watching donghyuck hurt hurts him as well. he is angry there is nothing he can do, but he knows how it goes. his family has been protecting the royal family for many generations. they watch from the sidelines as prince after prince gets married, even if there is little real love involved. that is a life of a royal family member.

“I know,” mark answers. “i am sorry, my prince. my job is to keep you safe, not inflict the pain. yet here i am. i have failed you.”

donghyuck looks up from the ground. he immediately stands up and walks over to where mark has chosen to stand for the latter part of the hour. he grabs mark by the chin and forces the knight to look into his eyes. he has his prince look on, full of determination and something mark cannot make out. “no, my knight. you have done your duty to the fullest. for, i have failed you instead.”

+

it is late winter now, with the temperatures rising just a bit. the promise of spring is on everybody’s minds. the summer wedding plans have been drafted and soon, the second eldest prince will be married. he will follow in his brother and father’s footsteps.

mark is leaving his post outside of the princesses door when a note is slipped to him from another servant. he does not acknowledge the servant or the note until he is in his own manor. he rushes to his room to see what it says. 

the note is classic with gold trim and a leather tie. mark’s heart pounds against his chest. it has been so long since he last heard from the crowned prince himself. avoiding each other has worked wonders on healing mark’s broken heart (or at least keeping the pain at bay). 

mark opens it up and reads.

_go to the forest at dusk. i’ll be waiting._

_d_

the note makes mark’s head spin. he checks his window and sees that dusk has already approached. mark quickly bundles himself up and heads out for their spot in the woods.

he has visited it frequently since their break up. it is a place for him to clear his head, or fill it with thoughts of the crowned prince. 

as he steps into their dimly lit area, he sees another body there. he treks closer and it is the crowned prince himself. he holds a torch in both hands. he nearly drops it when he sees mark.

“be careful, prince,” mark scolds lightly. he takes the torch from donghyuck and places it in a holder on a tree that had been there since the first time they ever came here.

“i apologize,” donghyuck says with a small smile. “it is good to see you, knight.”

“and, you,” mark answers. he does not know what donghyuck wants from him, but he wants to find out. “i hope i am not being rude, but what am i doing here, prince?”

donghyuck is quiet. “i do not want to marry her.”

mark raises an eyebrow. “i certainly hope it is not because of me.”

“you know it is,” donghyuck answers. “my heart has missed you so terribly, knight. it has hurt and hurt since you left me.”

mark shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. “mine as well.”

“i want you.” donghyuck’s words are loud even if they are a whisper in the vast woods they stand in. 

“oh.” mark bites his lip, unsure what to say back. he is not even sure there are right words for what donghyuck has told him. he knew what to say when donghyuck had told him the news, but has no idea now that donghyuck is saying he has chosen differently instead.

“for, i would walk to the ends of the earth for you, mark lee. for, i would watch my kingdom burn to the ashes for you.”

“and, i would follow you wherever you lead me, lee donghyuck.”

donghyuck throws himself into mark. he hugs him so tight it hurts, holds onto him for so long mark stops knowing where he ends and donghyuck begins. for once, mark is saying no to his supposed duties and putting himself first. even if this costs him everything he has ever known, his family’s entire legacy, maybe even his life. donghyuck is worth more than all of it.

maybe their love is forbidden, but right now under the dark sky, in the middle of winter, surrounded by snow, with red noses and frozen hands, they are each other’s completely.

**Author's Note:**

> basically this fic was based on the idea of saying i love you without saying the word love.....uhh hope i pulled it off
> 
> leave a kudos/comment if u enjoyed!
> 
> \- liv
> 
> [twit](https://twitter.com/flirtmark)
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/jjhs97)


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